mjmalino

4 hours ago, LynnForestgate said:

 

I am surprised that people actually use these.

 

Love the name beryl patricia 🙂 

We use them on anything longer than 7 days, and will occasionally use them on 7 days as well, especially if we are spending a couple days pre/post cruise. In fact, on our last cruise in Jan 2020, which was only 7 days, I did laundry before disembarking because my oldest was flying directly back to college and I didn't want him to need to do laundry when he got back.

7 hours ago, Ombud said:

What's wrong with ships water??

Absolutely nothing is wrong with the ship water, but before Princess Plus we would always buy a  12 pack of water from Princess to take into port with us.

On 9/18/2021 at 6:02 PM, 1965 said:

If obc was part of a promotion it is lost if you rebook. Other types of obc are not lost, such as my DH's military veteran obc. I always do the math regarding possible loss of obc before rebooking cruise fare. We have an excellent pvp who is careful about that. I hate that you lost so much obc. That never should have happened. Your pvp needs to be replaced. 

I always check to see what promotions I will be gaining/losing with a refare. Sometimes it is worth it, sometimes it isn't. Any pcp/ta who is worth their weight will be up front on what the differences will be prior to making the re-fare.

On 9/14/2021 at 12:36 PM, USCcruisecrazy said:

Nice review.  I would only caution with one piece of advice:  it appears you are comparing pre-COVID cruises on other lines with a current COVID restricted cruise on the Sky.  The Sky Princess was the last ship we cruised on before COVID stopped the fleet from sailing and it was a great experience...not close to the issues you discussed.  Timely drinks (of course you could order from the bar or the App), good entertainment, and fabulous food.  Hopefully Princess returns to those standards as this virus gets put into the rearview mirror.

I was actually thinking the same thing. We were on the Sky in January 2020 and didn't have any of the issues that the OP is mentioning. In fact, we are looking forward to being on the Sky this December. I guess we will see the differences for ourselves then.

Your cancellation penalty is not 100% of what is paid right from the final payment date. Here is a breakdown of it (for cruises between 6-24 days),so depending on how far out, you would receive some funds back as a refund, and under Cruise with confidence, whatever the cancellation penalty is would be returned as FCC:

The Sky has Take 5, a dedicated jazz bar, which became a favorite place to gather for myself and my 21 year old.

This is good news for us with regard to pre-cruise testing. Our cruise is scheduled for December 28, so 3 days prior is Christmas, which might pose a problem.

On 8/17/2021 at 6:05 PM, konatyme said:

Our cruise isn't until Sept. 2022, but I still want to be able to get the Traditional dining time we requested when we booked the cruise (pre-Dine My Way). I can't get the Medallion app to work so have no idea whether or not we will ever be able to get back the time we had booked before Princess screwed everything up!

 

What level of Captain's Circle are you? If you are not platinum or elite you won't be able to access DMW until after final payment. However, they did also say that if you booked the cruise prior to DMW debuting that all levels will have immediate access to it. So, I would suggest calling Princess, and see if they can fix the issue for you, depending on your level. (platinum and up or pre-DMW)

3 hours ago, Roberto256 said:

 

Sure, but with 2000+ passengers wandering around on a ship...

(whatever level princess fills ships to)

 

Is there going to be a shipboard employee(s) constantly asking to see/scan the medallion

of any passenger not wearing a mask?

 

Maybe some mask checkpoints everyone has to pass through.

 

That has the potential to make passengers even more cranky than having to use the medallion app

to get on the ship in the first place ... which is a pretty high bar!

 

 

I think that with the Medallions crew members can see who everyone is just by being in proximity. You only have to scan/tap the medallion to order/pay for things.

I found this article today. It lists every Princess ship in the fleet with their expected return to service date. Let's hope it is accurate.

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/25571-when-will-princess-cruises-ships-sail-latest-update.html

2 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

While I’ve never had to do it, I’ve read many posts from people with different amounts of OBC who called to book tours & were able to use the total amount of OBC for payment instead of paying by credit card so it might be worth a call to Princess.

 

I get military OBC so we request our shareholder OBC from our jointly owned CCL share account in my wife’s name to balance our amounts. Unfortunately it goes to the first name on the booking (mine) & if we plan to book their tours online will call the Shareholder section (800-872-6779 x-30317) who quickly move the SOBC to my wife.

Good to know! The overage was just a few dollars, so it wasn't a big deal, but I will definitely keep it in mind going forward. Thank you!

3 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

 

Based on all of my past experiences when in the same situation, Snaxmuppet will have $150 in his folio & his wife $400 in her folio until the final bill when their balances are combined.

That is an important part. We have a 14N cruise booked for February and my husband and I both have around $200 in OBC and I have an additional $250 for stock incentive. I purchased a shore excursion and it was less than the $450 that I had but more than what he had and I had to pay the remainder of his with a credit card.

At the very least, if his parents will not be joining you, and he will be under 18, you will need a notarized letter from his parents stating that you have permission to travel with him out of the country. Also, a medical power of attorney that is valid for the length of the cruise, to have, just in case.

We are booked on the Diamond Princess to South America (Buenos Aires to Santiago) on the February 5, 2022. So far, we are still on. (fingers crossed)

You might want to check out this Cruise critic article: https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1782

I believe you are correct about the crew area next to you. As for getting from one cabin to the other, I see 2 options, the first is as you stated, walking around toward the aft to the first set of elevators. The second, which looks a little shorter is to walk toward the forward and cut across by A101/102.

31 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

What!  Why is this affecting New York residents???

My thought is that NY has specific requirements that Princess does not offer. PVP is not the only travel insurance that is not offered to NY residents.

3 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

If the booking were thru a TA, and  I was hearing that others had successfully upgraded, then I would request that my agent do their job.   To many not-so-good (bad) agents and agencies out there.

 

And, just my thoughts on the inclusive package.

Yes, while it is true that it might take quite a few drinks (alcoholic) to make the upgrade worth it.   And, we were not huge drinkers...  But considering you also get coffees, juices, soda, etc... (which we would also enjoy)  and then the WIFI. (which is now 50% even for Platinum/Elite...)  and the along with gratuities...  all for less than the drinks package.   I do think that this can make sense for many more cruisers.

I agree. My husband doesn't drink, or only rarely does. I will have 1 or 2 at night. However, every cruise we purchase the coffee cards AND a case or 2 of waters to for use in ports, the amount we need to drink to make the $40/pp/day is not that much, especially since my hubby and I will purchase a wifi package (which I realize will be 50% off for being Platinum) and tips, of course. It is almost a wash, and if not, close.

I am sorry that you need to cancel, especially for health reasons.

I would reach out to Princess to cancel. As for your deposit, at least in the US, if you cancel prior to final payment, you do receive your initial deposit back in most cases, so you may be able to get a refund.

6 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

Wow, we must be wino's!  A bottle does not gets us to Dinner!    

I went through a bottle MAKING dinner tonight. In my defense I get really thirsty cooking since I tend to sing and dance while cooking.

8 hours ago, Roberto256 said:

 

Would princess allow one to purchase a package for more that the number of guests in a stateroom?

 

I would assume so. Last time I purchased a 4 devise plan there were 2 of us in our cabin. We shared it my in-laws in the cabin next door. The only thing is that since it was under my name/cabin they had to log in as such.

12 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Math teacher brain kicking in (think common core):

 

What is the cost of 50% off medallion internet price for elite or platinum loyalty membership level?

 

Do you pay by day?

Is a day 24 hours or calendar day?

Is it for one device (again....penalizing solo passengers if it is for 4 devices).

Can you pay as you go or upfront for x number of days?

 

Yes, it is a per day charge, for 24 hours. They have a 1 device and a 4 device plan (and maybe others).

I believe that it is all up front, but I also THINK that you can purchase it later in the cruise, but will still be required to purchase through disembarkation.

So this is how I am looking at the loss of the wifi minutes for platinum and elite.

Back before Medallion Net you, I believe that you could only buy packages of minutes, there was no unlimited (please correct me if I am wrong). When they introduced MedallionNet, on  the ships that had it, the only option you had was to buy an unlimited package, so if you had the loyalty perk of minutes, you could upgrade that to unlimited, BUT you could not buy a larger package of minutes. I felt like they were trying to get away from the "by the minute" internet.

So, in my opinion, it is not too much of a stretch that they decided to move away from giving internet minutes. For me, it doesn't matter because we have a Princess Plus fare, and even if we didn't we would get an unlimited package, but I do see how someone who only rarely logs in can feel like this is a loss.

3 hours ago, Omega1 said:

Would it be possible for people travelling together on different booking numbers (2 couples) to share the 4 device package? So one person buys the 4 device  package at $14.99 per day (less 50%) and all four people log in on a device each.

This would be $1.87pp per day for unlimited internet. Asking for a friend!😂🤣

Yes, we did this on the Sky in Jan 2020. My husband and I used 2 and my in-laws used the other 2. My kids used the free minutes that came with Platinum.

16 minutes ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

 

So now I found this...to add to the confusion.

In the FAQ for Princess Plus:

 

What’s NOT included in the Premier Beverage Package?
The Premier Beverage Package does not include souvenir items, room service, vending machine or mini-bar items.

 

At the very bottom of this:

https://www.princess.com/cruise-deals-promotions/princess-plus/

 

So, it would be nice to know....which of these seemingly inconsistent documentations is correct?

This is especially true if you watch some of the Medallion videos which say you can order in your stateroom, head for the pool and they will find you. Or....perhaps you could order on a wall panel...could you then go anywhere---even back to your stateroom? or maybe you have to wait in the elevator bank for the drink?

 

For those of us who have cruised a while with Princess and the Beverage Package...we "know" the past rules...but how would someone new to Princess know whether or not they could have a drink delivered to their room while using the package?

 

Inquiring minds want to know.... 🤪

 

 

We did not have a drink package, but we did sail on the Sky in early 2020. They were giving people their first drink ordered through the medallion app free as an incentive to use it. My husband doesn't drink so he ordered one from his app for me to be delivered to our cabin. We were charged the price of the drink, but I don't believe there was a room service fee included.